Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian

Last updated

The 1st Marquess of Lothian. 1stMarquesOfLothian.jpg
The 1st Marquess of Lothian.

Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian PC (8 March 1636 – 15 February 1703), known as the 4th Earl of Lothian from 1675 to 1701, was a Scottish nobleman. He was styled Lord Kerr until 1661 and Lord Newbattle from 1661 to 1675.

The eldest son of William Kerr, 3rd Earl of Lothian and Anne Kerr, he was born at Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian. He left Scotland and was educated at Leyden, Saumur, and Angers from 1651 to 1657. He unsuccessfully claimed the earldom of Roxburghe in 1658. [1] In 1661, his father lost an additional dispute with the new Earl of Roxburghe over the use of the courtesy title of Lord Kerr; it was reserved for Roxburghe's heir, and Kerr was thereafter styled Lord Newbattle. [2]

Lord Newbattle was a volunteer in the Dutch War of 1673. He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1675. Sworn a Privy Counsellor in January 1686, he was removed by James II in September. Lothian supported the Glorious Revolution and sat in the Convention of Estates of Scotland. He was appointed Lord Justice General of Scotland in 1689, holding the office until his death, and was re-appointed a privy counsellor by William III in 1690. In the same year, he succeeded his uncle Charles as Earl of Ancram. [1]

He was Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland in 1692, and addressed the assembly with a speech advocating tolerance and liberality towards episcopal ministers wishing to be received into the Kirk, in harmony with the King's recommendations. However, the Assembly proved hostile, and the proposal was not taken up. He was created Marquess of Lothian on 23 June 1701, and was appointed Justice-General and a commissioner to treat for the union of Scotland and England in 1702. He did not see the project out, as he died in the following year. [1]

Personal life

Lothian married Lady Jean Campbell (d. 1700), daughter of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, in January 1660–1, by whom he had ten children: [1]

Lothian also had a natural son, Captain John Kerr, who was slain at Douglas Castle by the Duke of Douglas.

He is buried in the family vault of Newbattle Church, Scotland.

Related Research Articles

George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen, was a Lord Chancellor of Scotland.

Duke of Abercorn

The title Duke of Abercorn is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and the Duke also bears four titles in Peerage of Scotland and two in the Peerage of Great Britain, and is one of only three peers who have titles in those three peerages. The Duke of Abercorn also claims the French title of Duke of Châtellerault, created in 1548.

Duke of Roxburghe

The Duke of Roxburghe is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford, Earl of Kelso and Viscount Broxmouth. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder of these titles. The title is derived from the royal burgh of Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders that in 1460 the Scots captured and destroyed.

Marquess of Lothian

Marquess of Lothian is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, which was created in 1701 for Robert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian. The Marquess of Lothian holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Lothian, Earl of Lothian, Earl of Ancram (1633), Earl of Ancram, Viscount of Briene (1701), Lord Newbattle (1591), Lord Jedburgh (1622), Lord Kerr of Newbattle (1631), Lord Kerr of Nisbet, Langnewtoun, and Dolphinstoun (1633), Lord Kerr of Newbattle, Oxnam, Jedburgh, Dolphinstoun and Nisbet (1701), and Baron Ker, of Kersheugh in the County of Roxburgh (1821), all but the last in the Peerage of Scotland. As The Lord Ker in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, previous marquesses sat in the House of Lords before 1963, when Scottish peers first sat in the House of Lords in their own right. The holder of the marquessate is also the Chief of Clan Kerr.

Clan Kerr Scottish clan

Clan Kerr is a Scottish clan whose origins lie in the Scottish Borders. During the Middle Ages, it was one of the prominent border reiver clans along the present-day Anglo-Scottish border and played an important role in the history of the Border country of Scotland.

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland

The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. The office has remained unfilled since the death of Gavin, Marquess of Breadalbane in 1922.

William Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian

General William Henry Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian was a Scottish nobleman, British soldier and politician, the eldest son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian. He was styled Master of Jedburgh until 1722, Lord Jedburgh from 1722 to 1735, and Earl of Ancram from 1735 to 1767. As the Earl of Ancram, he distinguished himself during the War of the Austrian Succession.

Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He became the first Earl of Lothian in 1606.

William Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian

William Kerr, first Earl of Lothian of a new creation (1605–1675) was a Scottish nobleman.

James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry 17th/18th-century Scottish duke and politician

James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry and 1st Duke of Dover was a Scottish nobleman.

John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl

John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, KT was a leading Scottish royalist and defender of the Stuarts during the English Civil War of the 1640s, until after the rise to power of William and Mary in 1689. He succeeded as 2nd Earl of Atholl on his father's demise in June 1642 and as 3rd Earl of Tullibardine after the death of his first cousin the 2nd Earl in 1670.

William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian, was a Scottish nobleman, styled Master of Jedburgh from 1692 to 1703 and Lord Jedburgh from 1703 to 1722.

William Ker, 2nd Earl of Roxburghe PC was a Scottish nobleman who inherited his title from his maternal grandfather, Robert Ker, 1st Earl of Roxburghe.

John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale

John Hay, 1st Marquess and 2nd Earl of Tweeddale was Lord Chancellor of Scotland.

Lieutenant-General William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian, was a Scottish peer who held a number of minor military and political offices. He was known by the courtesy title of Lord Newbattle until 1692, when he succeeded as Lord Jedburgh, then as Marquess of Lothian when his father died in 1703.

A list of events and people in Scotland in the 1700s:

William Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian

General William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian was a British soldier and peer, styled Lord Newbattle until 1767 and Earl of Ancrum from 1767 to 1775. He was buried at St Andrew's parish Church, Farnham, Surrey on 19 January 1815.

Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe PC was a Scottish nobleman.

Anne Kerr, Countess of Lothian Scottish aristocrat and landowner.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Paul, Sir James Balfour (1908). The Scots Peerage: Innermeath-Mar. D. Douglas. pp. 475–478.
  2. Parliamentary Register, 1661
Legal offices
Preceded by Lord Justice General
1689–1703
Succeeded by
Peerage of Scotland
New creation Marquess of Lothian
1701–1703
Succeeded by
Preceded by Earl of Lothian
1st creation
1667–1703
Preceded by Earl of Lothian
2nd creation
1675–1703
Preceded by Earl of Ancram
1690–1703